All Whites coach Anthony Hudson suggests decision to start Chris Wood from bench was tactical

All Whites coach Anthony Hudson his hinted the decision to start striker Chris Wood from the bench was a tactic to catch Peru off guard during their goalless intercontinental playoff match in Wellington.

With a spot at the FIFA World Cup on the line, New Zealanders began to panic when reports started swirling that Wood wouldn't feature in the game due to a hamstring injury.

However, he was eventually named on the bench and came onto the field with 15 minutes to play, where he made an immediate impact as New Zealand were hunting for what would have been a match-winning goal.

The match at Westpac Stadium was the first of two-legs to be played with the second taking place in Lima on Thursday (NZ time).

Speaking to Andrew Gourdie and Jim Kayes on RadioLIVE's Sunday Sport, Hudson said even though they were being cautious with the star striker, it was a tactic that catch the unexpecting Peruvians off-guard.

"I think people would understand and appreciate that there is so much on the line for New Zealand and a place at the World Cup," explained Hudson.

"I know when we prepare to play teams, we prepare to deal with a key player and when you get the team sheet and that key player isn't playing it starts to add a little doubt because everything you are now playing for is different and it just adds a little bit of uncertainty. 

"I know for a fact they would have been preparing for Woodsy all week long so it was important that we were cleaver there leading up to the game.

"I'm proud of the players because we put in a good performance without Woodsy for a large part of the game."

All Whites coach Anthony Hudson suggests decision to start Chris Wood from bench was tactical

Coming away with a goalless draw is a good result for the All Whites, but they still face a tough if they want to trump the tenth-ranked side in the world.

In 15 matches against South American teams, the All Whites have lost 11 and drawn four, while the last time they played in South America was back in 2007 against Venezuela.

On top of that, Peru has not lost a match this year. But there is one thing which plays into New Zealand's favour.

Due to the away goal rule, if New Zealand manages to score one in Lima, Peru will have to score twice if they want to advance as a draw would see the All Whites through.

Peru have conceded at least one goal in three of their four matches on home soil, and Hudson is quietly confident that New Zealand will be able to nab one themselves

"The mindset for us is really clear and we feel very confident. We are confident going away from home because we have always done that, we are confident we can score away from home because more than less we have done that.

"Japan, USA and Mexico we've always managed and we are a much better team than back then so we have to just really focus on the gameplan, be really patient and stay in the game for along as we can.

"We have serious belief we can get to Russia. We are in a great position, but everything we do now is critical."

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